Niki Sanders
Niki Sanders is introduced in the pilot episode of Heroes and was a main character all the way through Volumes One and Two. She is an advanced human. Character Overview Volume One In the pilot, her story opens in her home in Las Vegas, Nevada. After performing in a paid adult-oriented webcam, Niki prepares for the day with her young son Micah. She visits her son's private school and is given bad news about Micah’s late tuition. As she leaves, she sees her reflection moving differently than she is, the first sign that Niki may have unusual powers.Haunted by what she sees, she yells at the image to leave her alone, much to the confusion of her son. She then takes her son to a friend's house and talks with the woman about her situation. She explains that Mr. Linderman, who appears to be a loan shark with mafia connections, has sent thugs to her house to collect on a loan she had taken. Niki had borrowed tens of thousands of dollars for Micah’s tuition and is now struggling to get by. Niki also tries to tell her friend about this strange "other" she hears and sees, but her friend fails to understand. Frustrated, Niki simply leaves. Arriving home, Niki finds a pinhole camera Micah made for watching the upcoming solar eclipse. While looking through the camera she realizes the thugs are still in her house, and she unsuccessfully attempts to leave. The thugs suggest that she perform for them on camera, but when she objects an altercation apparently ensues although the details are unclear. Some time later Niki awakens to find the dead, bloody bodies of the thugs but has no recollection of what happened. Niki looks into the mirror to see her reflection covered in blood although she is not. Her reflection gestures for her to keep quiet.In the second episode, someone or something arranges for Niki to begin burying the bodies in an unnamed desert in Nevada. To her horror, she discovers the skeletal remains of a man wearing a skull ring, alike to the ones worn by the crew of D.L. Hawkins, Niki's estranged husband and Micah's father.During episode three Niki takes Micah to visit D.L.'s mother, where we learn that he is wanted by the police, still loves Niki and possibly has been in contact with Micah without her knowledge. Her part in the episode ends when a police officer stops her on a highway to deliver the message "Mister Linderman wants to see you."In the fourth episode, Niki is taken by the corrupt cop to see an associate of Linderman. The associate offers Niki a deal to pay off her debt involving seducing a politician Linderman is preparing to support as an "insurance policy". After meeting and flirting with congressman Nathan Petrelli, who is oblivious to Linderman's scheme, Niki tries to back out. However when another of Linderman's employee's threatens her and her son for not complying, Niki's alternate personality takes control of her body. After beating the man up in an elevator, the other Niki promises to kill him if he ever threatens Micah again. She then returns to Nathan's room and sleeps with him.PowersNiki's body contains "alternate" personalities. During the first and second season, the power of advanced human strength is shown when she pulls out the door of a safe box with her bare hands, throws her husband several feet across a small area with a single hit, breaks away from restraining cuffs that are "strong enough to hold down an elephant", and literally tear her opponents apart. She also displays signs of increased physical durability, being able to endure a blow from a shovel in "Fallout", only to stand back up again relatively unharmed, as well as able to endure the stress inflicted upon her body by her own strength (she does not, for example, injure her hand when punching through a solid wooden door). The power is originally only used by her alter-ego, Jessica. In "How to Stop an Exploding Man", however, Niki is able to fully use her advanced human strength after some encouragement from Jessica.Jessica is an apparent alternate personality of Niki's, named after Niki's late sister. At the start of the series, Jessica surfaces during times of great stress, but surfaces with increasing ease as the series moves on. When Jessica surfaces, the transformation is instantaneous and almost unnoticeable, but is made apparent by Niki's sudden violent and strong-willed behavior. Jessica also freely demonstrates the advanced human strength Niki has only recently unlocked. She also gains a peculiar tattoo resembling an RNA helix on her right shoulder, a symbol which has appeared often throughout the Heroes series.Jessica seems to have been aware that she is sharing Niki's body for longer than Niki realizes, leaving notes, gifts, and instructions for Niki, and telling a thug not to "threaten our son." Niki becomes aware of Jessica with the aid of reflective surfaces such as mirrors, and begins communicating with her. Jessica's ability to surface seems to increase over time, as Jessica is able to actively surface more often and more easily than she does in early episodes. The blackout effect on Niki also seems to lessen over time; the two personalities often directly fight each other for control and seem aware of what is said even when they are not active.It is revealed in "Four Months Ago..." that Jessica is not Niki's only personality. A third personality emerges: Gina, a pseudonym Niki assumed when she ran away to L.A. when she was younger.Tracy Strauss, Niki's sister (one of the three triplets) has the power to freeze things through physical contact.